Kings drop 3-0 decision to Thunder
March 22, 2006 - Central Hockey League (CHL) - Lubbock Cotton Kings News Release
Valley Center, KS - Wichita Thunder forward Joe Blaznek scored a pair of shorthanded goals and Sebastien Laplante stopped all 19 shots on goal from the Lubbock Cotton Kings en route to a 3-0 win Wednesday night at the Kansas Coliseum. The loss for the Kings pushes their winless streak to four games (0-2-2) and drops the overall record to 26-29-6.
The Thunder jumped on the board quickly to start the second period, after a scoreless first period in which the Kings out-shot the Thunder 10-8. 1:01 into the period, Kris Weibe tipped in a feed from the left corner from Tyler Liebel for a 1-0 lead. With 3:46 remaining, former Cotton King Joe Blaznek scored a shorthanded goal by firing the puck past former Thunder goaltender Lance Leslie. The shots slipped right through the left armpit of Leslie and he lost control of it as it got caught up in his jersey, and the puck eventually came out and rolled across the goal line for a 2-0 advantage.
Blaznek added his second shorthanded goal 8:11 into the third period on a breakaway down the left side. Kings forward Emery Olauson sent an errant pass directly to Blaznek, who broke in and flipped a wrist shot past Leslie to extend the lead to 3-0. Lubbock had nothing in the tank in the final frame and was only able to garner four shots on goal for the period.
The 19 shots by Lubbock was the second lowest this season, as they were out-shot 24-19. Leslie stopped 21 of 24 shots in the loss for the Kings. Both teams were unsuccessful on the man-advantage, as Lubbock and Wichita were each 0 for 5. The shutout was the sixth suffered by the Kings this season. Laplante's shutout was his third this season, tying a Thunder single-season record, which is held by several goaltenders including Leslie.
Lubbock heads south to Oklahoma City Friday night to face the Blazers before returning home Saturday for their home finale against the Odessa Jackalopes.
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Central Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2006
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